In manufacturing, machinery is used to form and/or cut flat work pieces into designated shapes for various applications. For example, during the manufacturing of an aircraft, forming machines may be used to produce spars from flat work pieces. Spars are load-bearing structural members that are located within the wings and the empennage of the aircraft, such as in the horizontal and vertical stabilizers at the tail of the aircraft. The spars may be attached to other structural members, such as ribs, to define structural frames, and the frames may be subsequently covered by a skin of the aircraft. Spars may be composed of various different materials, such as wood and metal, but it is common today to form spars out of laminated composite materials, such as carbon fiber.
Some known machines for cutting and forming spars out of laminated composite materials are oriented about a platform or table that receives a flat laminate work piece thereon. The flat work piece, sometimes referred to as a “spar charge” may weigh between 50 and 100 pounds, if not more. A flange portion of the work piece extends beyond an edge of the platform and aligns with the machine. The machine heats the overhanging flange portion and applies pressure and mechanical force to gradually form the work piece into a designated curved or contoured shape for the spar.
Dimensions of the finished spar typically must meet strict specifications to be installed within an aircraft. The dimensions of the finished spar depend on accurate alignment of the flat work piece relative to the machine. Certain known forming machines may include a pulling device that pulls the flat work piece towards the machine and bumpers that guide the movement of the flat work piece. The bumpers may be unreliable, so the work pieces may become misaligned as the work pieces are pulled into the machine. In order to straighten or realign the work piece, an operator may manually lift and pull the work piece. Such manual action may be difficult and/or uncomfortable to accomplish due to the relatively heavy weight of the work piece and/or awkward body posture adopted to access and lift the work piece.
Accordingly, known machines for forming work pieces in manufacturing, such as for forming laminate spars for aircrafts, may have unreliable and inaccurate guidance members, requiring manual intervention to lift and reposition the heavy work pieces relative to the machines.